A weather radar system generally detects the weather that is occurring in front of an aircraft, typically along its flight path. The weather radar system is usually positioned in the forward section of the aircraft and may include an antenna, an antenna position element, a transmitter, a receiver, and a signal processing element. The transmitter may generate a signal for the antenna to transmit forward of the aircraft. The antenna may also receive the signal after it has been reflected from clouds or other meteorological formations in front of the aircraft. The receiver may amplify the reflected signal and the signal processing element may prepare the reflected signal to be received by other equipment, such as a display monitor. The antenna may be oriented to transmit or receive in a given direction or may be swept in either azimuth or elevation by the antenna position element.